Some people run to chase medals. Others run to chase personal bests. For Steng running became something much deeper. It became a way to reclaim a life that almost ended on an ordinary training run.
This is her story.
GROWING UP IN THE EASTERN CAPE
Shonisani: I have to ask this; I genuinely thought your name was Steng. Then you sent me your email address and I was like, Wait... her name is Khanyisa? So before we go any further, please settle this for us. Is Steng your name or your surname?
Khanyisa: It’s actually a nickname that comes from my surname, Stengile. It started in high school and somehow just stuck. Most people in the running community know me as Steng, and some are genuinely surprised when they discover my real name is Khanyisa. When I introduce myself, I still say I'm Khanyisa. But runners immediately call me Steng. It's become part of who I am.
Shonisani: Tell us about your childhood. Where did you grow up?
Khanyisa: I was born and raised in the Eastern Cape. That's where I spent my childhood, completed primary school, high school and later my tertiary studies before moving to Johannesburg in 2007. I came to Johannesburg because of work. By then I had already been working for about two years, and I got an opportunity here. I'm an IT Business Systems Analyst, and that's the career I've been in ever since.
Shonisani: Were you always active growing up?
Khanyisa: Not at all. I always joke that I was a lazy child. I played hockey in high school because everyone had to choose a sport, but I never considered myself athletic. Running wasn't even on my radar. If someone had told me back then that one day I'd run marathons or even Comrades, I would have laughed.
Shonisani: You said you went to boarding school. Do you think that experience shaped the person you became?
Khanyisa: Absolutely!!! Boarding school forces you to grow up very quickly. I didn't choose to go; my parents made that decision for me. I remember crying so much because I genuinely felt like they were throwing me away. You're suddenly expected to become independent at such a young age. You have to learn how to solve your own problems, stand on your own feet and become emotionally strong because no one is going to do it for you. Looking back, I realise it prepared me for many of the challenges I would face later in life. I often say I don't think children are ever truly ready for boarding school, but it certainly teaches resilience.
Shonisani: I also went to boarding school, and I always say it teaches independence very early.
Khanyisa: It really does. By the time I moved to Johannesburg, living alone wasn't intimidating anymore because I had already spent years learning how to be independent. Even during varsity, after briefly staying with my aunt, I moved into my own flat. So moving to a completely different province didn't feel nearly as overwhelming as it might have otherwise.
THE RUN THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
Everything changed after she moved to Johannesburg in 2007 for work. Like many young professionals living independently for the first time, she started gaining weight and decided she needed to become more active. What started as a fitness goal soon became something much bigger. She began by participating in 10 km races and quickly discovered that she enjoyed the challenge and the sense of achievement that came with running. Encouraged by fellow runners, she boldly entered Tough One, a demanding 32 km race, despite never having run a half marathon before. Although it was one of the toughest experiences of her life, crossing that finish line ignited something within her.
From that moment, running became more than exercise. It became a journey of personal growth, resilience and self discovery. What began as an attempt to lose weight eventually transformed into a lifelong passion that would carry her through triumphs, unimaginable tragedy and ultimately inspire her to become the resilient runner and advocate she is today.
Shonisani: You went from running 10 kilometre races to entering Tough One, one of the toughest 32 kilometre races in Johannesburg. What happened after that?
Khanyisa: Looking back, I was very ambitious. I had never run a 21 kilometre race before. I went straight from a 10K to a 32K because someone in the running club convinced me that I could do it. I didn't know much about Tough One at the time. I had no idea it was considered one of the toughest 32 kilometre races in Johannesburg. I wasn't prepared. It took me almost five hours to finish. It was hard...really hard.
But when I crossed that finish line, I realised something. I had two choices: I could decide that running wasn't for me, or I could become better. I chose to get better. I had discovered something I genuinely enjoyed, and I wasn't ready to give it up. Like runners always do, the people around me immediately started planting another idea. "You've already done a 32. Why don't you train for a marathon?" It sounded crazy at first, but then I thought, I've got a whole year to prepare. The plan was to run the Soweto Marathon as my first marathon.
Unfortunately...Life had other plans.
Shonisani: What happened?
Khanyisa: It was October 2011. We were only a few weeks away from the Soweto Marathon, so we had gone out for one of our usual long training runs. There were six of us running from Vodaworld. We met at our normal meeting point early in the morning, just like we always did. Nothing felt different. We started running towards the Centurion side. We hadn't even been running for thirty minutes. We probably hadn't even covered five kilometres. The next thing I remember, I was lying on the road in so much pain. Someone told me there had been an accident, but I couldn't make sense of what had happened. I honestly thought my friends had not realised I got hit by a car and they continued with the run. I remember panicking because I kept thinking, they've left me behind. It wasn't until I got to the hospital that I was told what had happened.
Shonisani: What happened?
Khanyisa: Apparently, a car drove into us. I don't remember it at all.
Shonisani: Were all six of you hit?
Khanyisa: Yes. All six of us. When I got to the hospital, I was told that my five friends had all died at the scene. I was the only survivor.
Shonisani: Steng whaaat, noooo!!!
Khanyisa: Ya eish it was bad. I had broken my left leg in three different places. That was the moment everything changed.
Shonisani: How do you even begin to process something like that?
Khanyisa: You don't. At least, not immediately. I was completely traumatised. Not only was I recovering from serious injuries, but I also had to process the fact that I was the only one who had survived.
Shonisani: How did you deal with it, yoh that must have been hard.
Khanyisa: Therapy…It was hard. I kept asking myself, Why me? why did I survive when everyone else didn't? some of the runners had families. Another runner's wife was pregnant. Another had a young toddler waiting at home. I looked at their lives and thought they had far more reasons to still be here than I did. That thought stayed with me for a very long time. Therapy later taught me there was a name for what I was experiencing. Survivor's guilt.
FIVE YEARS AWAY FROM RUNNING
Shonisani: Your injuries were serious. What did recovery look like?
Khanyisa: My leg was badly broken. Recovery took a long time. Much longer than I expected. I was away from running for almost five years. People often think the physical injury is the hardest part. It wasn't. Emotionally it was a lot, every time I thought about running again, I remembered that morning. The fear, the loss, the trauma. My body healed sooner, my mind hadn't.
Shonisani: I completely understand. Was there ever a point where you thought your running journey was over?
Khanyisa: Definitely!!! My orthopaedic surgeon told me I would probably never run long distances again. He said that if I did manage to return to running, it would most likely only be shorter distances. Hearing that was devastating. But it also planted something inside me. To prove it to myself that I will run again.
Shonisani: So what eventually made you lace up your running shoes again?
Khanyisa: After 5 years I realised something, if I let fear control me, then the accident would continue controlling my life. I didn't want that. I wanted running back. Slowly, I started again, one run at a time.
Shonisani: You are very brave hey. I think that would have been the end of my running journey.
Khanyisa: I then made what everyone around me thought was a completely crazy decision. I told them that I was going to run the Comrades Marathon. People thought I had lost my mind. After everything that had happened. Why would I choose one of the toughest races in the world they said.
Shonisani: Ya no that was craaaazy.
Khanyisa: For me, it wasn't just another race. It was proof that trauma would not have the final say.
COMRADES
Shonisani: You finally made it to the Comrades Marathon in 2018. What was that experience like?
Khanyisa: Honestly...It didn't go the way I'd imagined. I didn't finish. I got cut off at around the 81 kilometre mark. That was heartbreaking. When you've trained for months and sacrificed so much just to get there, not finishing hurts. But looking back now, I understand why it happened. Some of it came down to inexperience. I made rookie mistakes. I probably mismanaged my pacing. I also started feeling pain in my injured leg again. Eventually, my body simply couldn't give any more. I had to stop.
Another Setback... Another Lesson.
Shonisani: That must have been incredibly difficult after everything you'd already overcome.
Khanyisa: It was. For a while, it felt like I had this huge weight sitting on my shoulders. I'd survived the accident. I'd fought my way back to running. I'd finally made it to Comrades and then I still didn't finish. It felt like unfinished business. But giving up was never an option. If anything, not finishing made me even more determined to come back. I knew I had another race in me. I just needed another opportunity.
Shonisani: And you went back?
Khanyisa: I did. I went back in 2019. This time, everything came together. I crossed that finish line.
Shonisani: Yaaaas wena girl
Khanyisa: That medal meant so much more than simply completing an ultra marathon. It represented years of recovery. Years of healing. Years of refusing to let trauma define me. For me, it wasn't just another medal. It was proof that I had found my way back.
Shonisani: Most runners who finish one Comrades immediately start planning the next one. Was that the case for you?
Khanyisa: Not really. I'd always told myself that I wanted to complete one Up Run and one Down Run. That was the goal. Once I'd done both, I was done. After COVID interrupted racing, I eventually completed my Down Run in 2023. When I crossed that finish line, I was proud because I'd achieved exactly what I'd set out to do. I had my Up medal; I had my Down medal. That chapter of my life felt complete.
Shonisani: Hahaha are you really done?
Khanyisa: That's what I keep saying. Every time someone asks, I tell them, I'm never doing that again. Comrades is an incredible race, but it's also incredibly demanding. People only see the finish line. They don't always see the months of training, the sacrifices, the exhaustion and everything you have to overcome to get there. I've done what I wanted to do. I'm proud of those medals. I'm happy leaving Comrades where it is.
Shonisani: Not even the 100th Comrades tempted you?
Khanyisa: It definitely did. When I heard about the 100th edition, I honestly started thinking about it. For a moment, I thought…Maybe just one more. But then reality kicked in. I remembered just how demanding Comrades is. I also have other things happening in my life that needs my attention. I'm at peace with what I've achieved.
THE ENDO WARRIOR
Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. This can cause inflammation, scarring, and pain. Common symptoms: Severe period pain, pelvic pain, heavy periods, pain during sex, pain when using the toilet during your period, difficulty getting pregnant. There is no cure, but treatments such as pain medication, hormone therapy, and surgery can help manage the symptoms.
Shonisani: Let's talk about something that so many women silently struggle with including myself. You call yourself the Endo Warrior. Where did that journey begin?
Khanyisa: It actually started long before I even knew what endometriosis was.If I think back, it started in high school. I remember having incredibly painful periods, but everyone around me brushed it off. People would simply say, "Periods are supposed to be painful. “So, I believed that. I thought what I was experiencing was normal. I just kept taking painkillers every month and carried on with life.
Shonisani: Did the pain become worse as you got older?
Khanyisa: It definitely did. When I got to varsity, the pain became more intense. The only difference was that now I could go to a doctor and get stronger pain medication. But no one could actually explain why I was in so much pain. They treated the symptoms. Nobody was looking for the cause. Even after I started working, the first two days of every menstrual cycle were almost impossible. I couldn't go to work. The pain completely took over my life. At the time, I didn't know there was a medical condition behind it. I just thought I was unlucky.
Shonisani: That’s exactly how I feel, unlucky!!! How did you come to know it was endo?
Khanyisa: I think we all do. I started seeing the same GP every month because of the pain. Eventually she noticed a pattern. One day she looked at me and said, "You're here almost every month." She admitted that she wasn't an expert on endometriosis, but she suspected something wasn't right. She told me she'd heard about a condition called endometriosis and referred me to a gynaecologist she trusted. Looking back, that referral changed my life.
Sometimes all it takes is one healthcare professional who pays attention.
Shonisani: What happened when you saw the specialist?
Khanyisa: He listened to my symptoms and immediately suspected endometriosis as well. But he explained that the only way to know for sure was through a laparoscopy. In 2008, I had the procedure. Afterwards he confirmed it. He said, "You do have endometriosis, and it's quite severe." I remember feeling two emotions at the same time. There was sadness because I finally understood what I was dealing with. But there was also relief. For the first time in my life, my pain had a name. I wasn't imagining it. I wasn't being dramatic. There was an actual medical condition causing everything I'd been experiencing.
Shonisani: Once you had a diagnosis, did you find it easy to get information?
Khanyisa: Not at all. Back then there was very little information available in South Africa. There weren't many awareness campaigns. There weren't support groups. I found myself turning to overseas Facebook communities just to learn about my own condition. That's where I started educating myself. I spent hours reading. I wanted to understand what was happening inside my own body.
Shonisani: It's interesting because my own story is very similar. I also spent years believing painful periods were just part of being a woman.
Khanyisa: Exactly. People often assume doctors immediately know what endometriosis looks like. But that's not always true. I actually confronted one of my previous GPs years later. I asked him: I came to your practice almost every month in pain. Why didn't anyone ever suspect endometriosis? He apologised. He told me that during medical school, endometriosis barely received any attention. He genuinely didn't know enough about it.
Shonisani: For women reading this, what signs should they look out for?
Khanyisa: The biggest thing is paying attention to your own body. We know our bodies better than anyone else. If every single month, you're in so much pain that you can't go to work, you can't go to school, you can't get out of bed, that's not normal. If over the counter pain medication doesn't help...That's not normal either. Pain that affects your quality of life deserves investigation. Women are often told to "just deal with it." We need to stop accepting that.
BUILDING THE ENDO WARRIOR MOVEMENT
Shonisani: You have done so much to create awareness. How did the Endo Warrior movement begin?
Khanyisa: Initially I joined an endometriosis support group because I wanted to connect with women who understood what I was going through. We created WhatsApp groups. People shared their experiences. There was emotional support. But after a while I realised something. The conversations stayed inside the group. Nothing was happening outside of it. There wasn't enough education. There wasn't enough public awareness. I wanted to do more than just have conversations. I wanted women to know they weren't alone. That's when I decided to start using my own social media platform to educate people. That's where Endo Warrior was born. It became my way of turning my own experience into something that could help someone else.
Shonisani: Has your condition improved over the years?
Khanyisa: It has, but it wasn't an easy journey. I had several surgeries. Each time I would feel better for a few months...Then the pain would return. Eventually my gynaecologist admitted something that I respected him greatly for. He said, "I don't think I can treat your condition anymore." Instead of pretending to have all the answers, he referred me to an endometriosis specialist in Pretoria. That decision changed everything.
Shonisani: How?
Khanyisa: That surgery gave me my life back. Today I still have painful months but they are not bad like before.
Shonisani: If there's one thing you hope women take away from your story, what would it be?
Khanyisa: Don't ignore your pain. Don't let anyone convince you that suffering is simply part of being a woman. Keep asking questions. Get second opinions if you have to. Advocate for yourself because no one knows your body better than you do. You deserve answers. And most importantly... You deserve to live without pain!!!
FINDING PURPOSE IN PAIN
Shonisani: You've experienced unimaginable loss including losing both your parents few years back, years of chronic pain and multiple surgeries. Do you ever ask, "Why me?"
Khanyisa: I used to. Especially after the accident. I kept asking why I was the one who survived. Over time, my question changed. Instead of asking, "Why me?" I started asking, "What can I do with the life I've been given?" That shift changed everything. I can't change what happened. I can't erase the pain. But I can choose what I do with my story. If sharing my experiences helps one woman seek medical help earlier... If it encourages one runner not to give up... Then everything I've gone through has purpose.
Shonisani: On the difficult days, what keeps you moving forward?
Khanyisa: Hope. I've lived long enough to know that difficult seasons don't last forever. When I couldn't run, I thought I'd never run again. When I lived with constant pain, I wondered if life would ever improve. When I survived the accident, I wondered if I'd ever smile again. Life has taught me that healing takes time. Not everything changes overnight. Sometimes progress is slow. But progress is still progress. That's what keeps me going.
WHAT DOES FINDING MY POWA MEANS TO YOU?
It means resilience. It's the ability to keep showing up even when life has every reason to make you stop. It's believing in yourself when the outcome isn't guaranteed. It's choosing to hope over fear. It's understanding that strength doesn't always look loud. Sometimes strength looks like getting out of bed. Sometimes it looks like asking for help. Sometimes it looks like taking one more step when you don't think you can. That's what POWA is to me.
LOVE
Shonisani: Do you have a family of your own?
Khanyisa: Unfortunately not, I would have loved to have kids, but I had a couple of miscarriages because of endo and it just got to a point where I gave up.
Shonisani: I’m so sorry about that. Married? In a relationship?
Khanyisa: Hahahha yoh not really…its complicated hahahha
Shonisani: Would you date a runner?
Khanyisa: Hahahah Yoh... runners? I've dated runners before. Hey... hey... hey.
Shonisani: Hahaha They showed you flames?
Khanyisa: Hahah let’s just say I wouldn't do it again.
Shonisani: That's interesting because I always imagine it would be nice. You'd do races together, travel together for races, and you'd both understand the lifestyle.
Khanyisa: It's supposed to be like that. When it works, it works...Until it doesn't.
Shonisani: So, if I were looking for a man for you, he definitely shouldn’t be a runner?
Khanyisa: hahaha maybe let's try Hyrox guys... the hybrid guys instead.
Shonisani: hahaha okay, what do you look for in a man?
Khanyisa: A kind man Shoni
Shonisani: Aaah yeeees I believe that if one wants to be happy and fully experience what it is to be loved, get yourself a genuinely kind considerate man.
Khanyisa: I totally agree…the rest really becomes a bonus
Shonisani: A Hyrox, kind man for you ne hahaha
Khanyisa: hahaha Yes, even if he’s not into Hyrox but he must be active, we need to have similar interests.
FUN FACT
Despite being fearless enough to take on marathons, Hyrox and even the Comrades, Khanyisa admits there's one thing she'll never be brave enough to face… WATER!!!
Shonisani: Water? What do you mean?
Khanyisa: I’m always convinced that I’m going to drown, even when taking a bath.
Shonisani: Hee vhanna...hahahah Steng do you bath?
Khanyisa: I do, I shower and it has to be quick.
Shonisani: Hahaha bathong A whole sgora scared of water?
Khanyisa: Listen... it's really bad. The other day I was out running, saw water on the road and I turned around and went home.
Shonisani: Steng weee hahaha finish me. What are you telling me? Where does this fear even come from?
Khanyisa: I honestly don't know. But I remember growing up, my sister's friend drowned and her body was never found. Sometimes I think maybe that's where the fear comes from.
Shonisani: Jeez okay that actually makes a lot of sense. That's really sad.
Steng, our conversation really reaffirmed my belief that, as human beings, we can bounce back from anything... absolutely anything!!!! I'm inspired by the way you've refused to let life define you or keep you down. Every setback simply became another reason to rise again.
Thank you for sharing your story so openly. Keep owning your POWA Khanyisa. You carry your POWA so beautifully, and I have no doubt your story will inspire many others to find theirs too. It certainly inspired me so much. Thank you for sharing the healthy eating tips ngizozama:)